Have you ever wondered how people have been able to capitalize on the stock markets and make a killing from the returns on their investments with just a click of a mouse? Are you ‘green' with envy because you're ‘green' to the world of online trading and haven't been able to make your money work for you? What if someone came up to you and told you that you too can make money like all the traders and investors you've heard so much about (and possibly even been envious of), and that you can learn how to do so in less than 7 days? Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

The truth is, in some cases, it probably is. Especially if they're asking you to pay exorbitant amounts for lessons you can probably find for free online. After all, if they claim to be such experts on making money through trading and are already supposedly making a killing on the markets, why the need to charge for basic knowledge? While it is within reason for experts of the trade to charge a small fee for advanced lessons, you can equip yourself with the basic knowledge enough to start off your online trading career by getting online and searching for the relevant information. The fact that you're reading this article shows that you've already taken the first step in embarking on your online trading career.

One great tip in learning online trading is to start small. Don't be tempted by others who are betting their houses on a trade. If you're comfortable enough to start trading right away, do small trades first. The benefit of starting small is that with online trading, there is no buy or sell order that is too small. So if you have the some capital but lack the confidence of a big trade, treat the small trades as training for yourself before moving onto bigger trades. After all, you'll need to learn how to walk before you can learn how to run.

Got friends in the trade? Great. Learn from them, do what they're doing in the market, shadow them. By doing so you'll be exposed to a wealth of knowledge that can help you in your quest to learn. Stock charts, performance indicators, moving averages, opening price, closing price, high and low trade prices; these are just some of the terminologies you need to get acquainted with, and what better way than first-hand experience? Also, by shadowing what others are doing, you're able to learn trade strategies that others have had successes or have met failures with. However, bearing that in mind, it is quite possible for you to make a loss as easily as you've made a profit from shadow trading, especially when you don't know what you're doing. So if you're just starting out, keep the first tip in mind when embarking on shadow trading: start small.

If you're completely uncomfortable with facing potential losses at this point, and would rather have every penny of your hard earned money work positively for you, then you might like to try your hand at simulation trading. Just like shadow trading, you're still trading and learning the ropes; the only difference is that no real money is involved. All you're doing is shadowing the market by trading online, and you'll still get all the excitement of a real trade, but it would be nothing more than a simulation. No losses, no gain. One great advantage of simulation trading is that you'll have access (full or limited, depending on your source) to a variety of online trading programs, software that you need to familiarize yourself with before embarking on a real trade.

Obviously there are other ways how you can learn online trading in less than 7 days, and all you need to do is find them online the way you found this article. But keep in mind that even though you're able to learn the basics of online trading in less than 7 days, online trading is a continuous journey of self-education, because your success depends on how well-informed you are about the market.